The UK government announced that social media networks could be banned in the region if they fail to protect users from harmful content.
According to The Independent, the UK government has decided to take strict action against several prominent social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter could be banned in the coming future. It will happen if they fail to protect their users from any harmful content. Imposing a colossal fine is also a part of the latest decision.
All these things are included in the new Online Harms Bill. It aims to stop any damaging or dangerous content over the internet.
Social media services and privacy of users
✍️ Our Online Harms Bill will help protect children and vulnerable people.
❌ We are setting out that social media sites, websites, apps & other services will need to remove & limit the spread of illegal content such as child sexual abuse, terrorist material & suicide content. pic.twitter.com/sJ4RSmYNFJ
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) December 15, 2020
The new bill’s objective is apparent, and it will try to restrict social media services in some capacity. However, it will be good since there’s a lot of negative content floating around these days. The government of the UK has eventually taken a bold step towards this problem.
Due to the new announcement, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram could face an unpleasant situation if they don’t adhere to its rules. They will be bound to either pay around £18 million or ten percent of their global revenue as a fine.
The government also made it clear that senior executives of renowned social networks could be held liable in violation of rules.
The Online Harms Bill’s legislation will apply to any company in the world whose services are used by people in the UK. It simply means all the online platforms, based on user-generated content, will be included.
During the announcement of the bill, Home Secretary Priti Patel, of the Conservative party, said:
“We are giving internet users the protection they deserve and are working with companies to tackle some of the abuses happening on the web.”
“We will not allow child sexual abuse, terrorist material, and other harmful content to fester on online platforms. Tech companies must put public safety first or face the consequences.”
The growing need for privacy in the modern-day world
Current scenarios are dire when it comes to online protection of people from abusive and negative content. In the last five years, it has become a priority for almost every tech company to maintain its customers’ privacy standards. However, many of them don’t take this objective literally.
That’s why governments across the globe are now starting to take matters into their own hands. It may look inappropriate and a step against freedom of expression on the internet. But it needs to be understood that social media apps and services are going too far in the modern-day world. There’s no full stop on anything, leading to many users getting harassed or even losing their lives. And every year, such cases are increasing at an unprecedented rate.
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